B E A U T Y
by Song of Phoenix
Summary: Rainkit has always been in the shadow of her older sister. Featherkit was pretty and popular. Featherkit is known for her beauty, but nothing else. She'd rather be smart and kind, like Rainkit. But it's no secret that Featherkit is loved by the Clan only because she's pretty, and Rainkit isn't sure whether she could give up what she already has for her sister's fate. Read & Review!
1. P R O L O G U E

**AN: My first real story! Yay! I've had the idea for this for a while but kept writing and rewriting the prologue, hence not updating Starkit's Prophecy. Sorry, guys. Regular updates will resume soon. But meanwhile, read this! I hope y'all like it!**

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Full Description:

Rainkit has always been in the shadow of her older sister. Featherkit was pretty and popular. Featherkit is known for her beauty, but nothing else. She'd rather be smart and kind, like Rainkit. Their differences drive a rift between them, and they try to be as different from each other as possible. Rainkit gets terrifying dreams of a shadowy cat that haunts her in sleep. Featherkit is troubled by very different struggles in the waking world, but they are just as important to the future of the Clans. The sisters are tempted by an offer almost too good to be true when Featherkit joins Rainkit in the spirit world, but the threat in the real world is growing more and more powerful. When the horrors of Rainkit's nightmares threaten everyone close to the sisters, they have to join together to save everyone they love before the Clans are thrown into chaos.

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The moon hung low in the sky, a tiny sliver of light. The stars of Silverpelt were faintly scattered in the blanket of night. Each of the nights had been like this, cold and mysterious. That was how she could tell that she would be going to the Empty Sector for the last time. She closed her eyes, welcoming the darkness that enveloped her.

The Empty Sector greeted her when she opened her blue eyes. It was the bridge between StarClan and the Dark Forest, neither good nor bad, but nothingness. The fog and cold, ever-present, surrounded her, the vapor dampening her fur and then freezing in the harsh temperatures. Her sister was there too, a faint outline through the mist. A section of the fog began to swirl before them, darkening and solidifying until it became the body of a cat. _Amunet. _The cat greeted them with a simple dip of her head, opening her empty black eyes.

"Greetings, young ones." Her voice was cold and monotone, devoid of emotion. "Are you ready?" Her muzzle curled into a cruel smirk, defining her misty features. She gulped and glanced at her sister, who she saw had the same deep fear etched across her face. Amunet lifted her ghostly tail, and the chilling wind picked up. She remembered her father's words from when she was a kit. _No matter how pretty, how, ugly, or even how different you are from everyone else, I will always love you, to StarClan and back. Are you clear? _

His strong yet gentle meow rang in her head, bringing with them memories of why she was making this gamble in the first place. _Two moons old, watching her sister play with the other kits. Six moons old, listening to her sister's name getting chanted, obscuring the voices of her few friends who still stood by her side. Her mentor yelling at her, the other apprentices humiliating her in front of the Clan. Her Clanmate nearly killing her the day she became a warrior. And finally, Amunet telling her it could all be fixed with a simple trade of personality with her perfect sister. _

_That's all it was, right? Just a simple trade? Something to get over with and then move on? Insignificant, trivial. After all, they were already sisters. How much harm could it do?_ _A lot. _The tiny voice in her head answered her question, bringing with it the ugly fact that she had gone against her father's wise words. Her legs buckled, as she strove to overcome the wave of nausea and pain that had come over her. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself again, feeling the cold wind whip around her. She wasn't entirely sure what she had gotten herself into. Bracing herself against what was to come, she saw two tendrils of black fog lift off of Amunet's pelt. The smoky substance snaked around her and her sister, gradually disappearing. It seemed like it was seeping into her very essence. She suddenly realized what was happening to her and her sister. _Amunet said she would make us who we wanted to be, if we promised to make a trade. But this isn't just a simple swap, is it? _The cold inside her started to ache, like her very being was being torn from her, and the vapor-filled Empty Sector seemed to get very distant as it faded to black. Somewhere in her frozen mind, a thought formed from the dark abyss of what used to be her being. _It was an exchange of souls. _

**Kind of a creepy prologue, I know. But review, review, review for a Amunet plushie! Also, I'd really appreciate if you gave me some feedback!**

**-Phoenix**


	2. C H A P T E R 1

**AN: THANK YOU! For favoriting as much as you reviewed! That's good...I think? Anyways, here you go! *Throws Plushies***

Featherkit vaguely heard loud noises beyond the safe, happy world that included milk and the warmth of her mother's belly.

"Mama, why hasn't Featherkit opened her eyes yet?" This was a high, squeaky voice. _Rainkit._ Featherkit remembered the name of her sister; she was the small, warm body next to her.

"Hush, Rainkit. Your sister is resting. Don't wake her." Featherkit associated this gentle, musical tone to their mother, Swansong. There were other voices too, one that was low and full of laughter, and another that was almost like Swansong's. Three smaller mewls piped up from time to time, one deep, one sweet, and one quiet and in-between. Featherkit felt a paw prodding her in the side.

"Hurry up, Featherkit, I wanna go play!" Rainkit mewed. "My fur's turning gray waiting. Wait, it already is gray." Rainkit giggled. _What's gray?_ Featherkit remembered something Rainkit said about opening her eyes. _Maybe I could try that. It'll be fun! _Featherkit tentatively lifted one eyelid and then the other. _It's so bright!_ Featherkit let out a sharp squeal and ducked her head back into her mother's soft fur, slowly blinking her eyes to get used to the piercing light.

"Mama, Mama, Featherkit's opened her eyes!" Featherkit tilted her head up to see Swansong's face for the first time. _Wow, she's so big! Will I ever be that big? _Glancing down, Featherkit glimpsed her reflection in a puddle. Big blue eyes and light gray tabby fur She looked over at her sister, realizing how much they looked alike. They were nearly the same height, Rainkit edging Featherkit out by half a kitten-step. Their tails were the same length, and her sister's face had the same shape. Both had the delicate frame and the strong paws that was so common among RiverClan cats, but Featherkit was long-furred and Rainkit had a short pelt.

"Hey, that tickles!" Swansong had began to smooth down Featherkit's fluffy kit fur with her pink tongue. Featherkit squirmed and wriggled out of her mother's reach, laughing the whole way. Soon enough, Rainkit was laughing with her.

"Swansong, can we go play? I wanna see the RiverClan camp, 'cause you said to wait till Featherkit opened her eyes. I already waited for a whole three days!" Rainkit pouted,

"Hey, Featherkit's awake!" A sturdy gray tom smirked down at her, standing a few tail-lengths outside the nursery, covered in mud. He looked to be a few moons older than her and was quite a bit taller. A smaller white tom with dark gray markings stood slightly beside him, his green eyes friendly. Featherkit immediately saw Rainkit brighten.

"Hey, Hailkit, hey Hawkkit!" Rainkit greeted the other kits. Hailkit barely answered, but Hawkkit replied enthusiastically with a "Hi!". Featherkit remembered that there had been three other kit voices in the nursery, but she had only seen the two toms. Before she could ask, Rainkit took the thought from her mind.

"Hey guys, where's Honeykit?"

"Why do you care? Mind your own business!" Hailkit narrowed his eyes, glaring at Rainkit. Her sister's eyes widened, and she seemed really shaken.

"I..I was j-j-just wondering." Rainkit trailed off, tears beginning to pool in her blue eyes. Her sister padded back to their nest, whiskers drooping.

Featherkit felt really uncomfortable. Both Hailkit and Hawkkit seemed to be adverse to the seemingly innocent question. Unable to break the tense silence between them, Featherkit twitched her tail back and forth, staring at the ground.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Featherkit apologized. "I dunno what happened, but it's really not Rainkit's fault…" She stopped, not really knowing what she was apologizing for. A shadow fell across Hawkkit's face, and for a heartbeat it looked like Hailkit was going to blow up again. But the gray tom only let out a sigh.

"Honeykit's sick, I think. She practically lives in the medicine den. Goldendawn's _always_ with Honeykit." Hailkit paused, a frown on his face. "I'm not jealous, of course. She might _die_, like Heronkit did." Hailkit meowed quietly. "He was only a moon old, you know. But one day, we woke up, and he never did. He was gone, you know." The fury in in Hailkit's yellow-orange eyes was replaced by sadness. Featherkit was speechless. She truly felt bad for Hailkit and Hawkkit.

"Oh," she said. "That's awful, but I get it, kay?"

"You don't, Featherkit, you really don't." Hawkpaw shook his head. Featherkit felt a pang of pity for the older kits, even though they had been so mean to Rainkit. She suddenly felt so confused, and her mind was twisting. _I don't know if Rainkit was really hurt by what Hailkit said. It didn't seem so bad… Maybe she was just faking it to get Mom's attention. But Hailkit was kinda mean, I guess. _Featherkit twitched an ear, completely befuddled. But most of all she was annoyed at Rainkit for being such a loudmouth and a crybaby. _It's not fair! She already got to play with Hailkit, Hawkkit and Honeykit. For three days! Why does she have to ruin my fun! _

Featherkit felt like raking her claws down something. But she swallowed her feelings of unfairness.

"I'll...leave, 'cause I'm tired anyway." Featherkit didn't care that it was obvious that the older kits could easily see through her lie. She turned to go away.

"Wait, Featherkit! We'll show you the RiverClan camp. We can still have fun, can't we? I mean, it's nowhere near sunset yet! We could explore the whole camp!" Hailkit gestured with his long tail to the humongous area around them. Featherkit took it all in for the first time, hearing the roar of the river and the reeds rustling in the breeze. Her jaw dropped wide open.

"Come on, Featherkit! Hurry up!" Hawkkit's friendly mew sounded from halfway across the camp. Featherkit raced to catch up, her short legs stumbling every so often.

"You see that thorn bush? That's where the medicine cat is. She's called Poppyheart."

"She's super nice, and really smart." Featherkit's fur stood straight up in surprise. Glancing back, she saw a small golden cat standing behind her, her fur smelling of herbs. Featherkit was tempted to think that this was the medicine cat apprentice, but then she took in the cat's height and striking resemblance to Hailkit.

"Honeykit! You're back!" Hawkkit licked his sister's ear. "You're just in time, Featherkit opened her eyes, and we're showing her the camp."

"What about Rainkit, isn't she here?" Honeykit looked around.

"She's busy," Hailkit replied quickly. "Let's go see the apprentices' den." They raced to a small bramble thicket. A dark gray she-cat poked her head out, her golden eyes warm.

"Ashpaw! I haven't seen you in such a long time! Do you like your mentor?" Honeykit asked.

"Reedsong's super nice. I don't know how I'd put up with Pebblepaw if she didn't train me seperately once in a while." Ashpaw's her whiskers twitched with amusement. Featherkit took an immediate liking to the young apprentice. They chatted for awhile until Reedsong, a slender light-brown tabby, came to take Ashpaw hunting. The four kits said goodbye to the dark gray apprentice and went to explore the elder's den. Featherkit liked fiery Yellowstorm and old, blind Shrewfoot but was kind of scared of the one-eyed, battle-wounded Jaggedscar.

"He's kind of scary, isn't he," Featherkit remarked when they left the elder's den.

"Yeah, I hope I never have to clean his nest," Hailkit muttered. They went to the warriors den, where there was a few cats sharing tongues and napping. Featherkit looked around, but none of them matched the description Swansong had given her of her father, Aspenheart.

"Let's check out the leader's den, 'cause Dad might be there." Hawkkit bounced up and down with excitement. Hailkit nodded.

"Race you!" Hawkkit burst ahead, sending clumps of grass into the air. Hailkit fought to catch up, but the smaller, more slender Hawkkit had a head start. Featherkit was far behind the two toms, and Honeykit lagged even farther behind. The golden kit's legs were short and Featherkit guessed that she didn't run around much.

"Ow!" Hailkit appeared to have run into a huge mass of gray fur. Hawkkit skidded to a stop beside his brother, laughing and good-naturedly cuffing Hailkit on the ear.

"Sorry, Dad." Apparently Hailkit had run full force into his father.

The huge cat turned around, the remains of a mouse still hanging from his jaws. He put the carcass down on the mossy floor of his den. Featherkit noticed that his green eyes were kind, not cold and harsh like she was expecting them to be. His fur was sleek and well groomed, and although he was missing an ear, his appearance was not frightening at all.

"Hello, Hailkit, Hawkkit! Oh, and Honeykit too! Are you feeling better, little one?" The leader licked the small kit on the head.

"Featherkit opened her eyes!" The huge gray tom turned to look at her.

"Hello. I'm Slatestar. Are my kits being nice to you? Hailkit sure can be a cruel cat sometimes. And Hawkkit! I can't stand him. Honeykit is too stuck up." Slatestar meowed, pretending to be serious. His whiskers twitched, giving him away. After licking each of his kits on the head, he glanced outside.

"Go back to the nursery. The sun is going down."

"I'm hungry!" Hawkkit dashed to a large mound of something in the middle of the camp. Featherkit took a closer look.

"It's prey," Hailkit explained. "After you are old enough, you stop drinking milk and you have prey instead. These small silvery ones are fish, and these bigger furry ones are water voles. They're really good." Hailkit was right. A delicious smell was coming from the pile, making Featherkit hungry. Her belly let out a huge rumble.

"I'm hungry too. But I guess I have to have milk." Featherkit said. Hailkit looked up over a mouthful of vole. He padded over to her, and whispered to in her ear.

"You know about Honeykit? She has this coughing disease." Hailkit shrugged. "I thought you'd like to know." The bigger kit paused. "Just don't tell Rainkit, okay? She's only opened her eyes for three days, and I can already tell she's a blabbermouth."

"Okay. Bye, Hailkit!" Featherkit returned to the nursery, her eyelids drooping.

"Featherkit! Did you have fun?" Swansong gently groomed her fur, allowing her suckle. She curled up next to Rainkit's sleeping form and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

**AN: Question of the Day (QOTD): If you could be any canon Warrior cat, alive or dead, who would you be? PM me with your answer for a chance to win an OC in this story! Well-written, funny answers will help your chance of winning. **


	3. C H A P T E R 2

**AN: I'm back with another chapter! Thanks to all the great reviews and answers to the QOTD! Here's a cookie to everyone that reviewed! (::) (::) (::) (::) (::)**

_It's just a dream. Calm down. _Rainkit's chest heaved, as she gasped for air, trying to relieve the tension on her chest. She blinked her eyes open, the sleeping forms of her mother and sister beside her. It was still dark, the moon casting a faint glow on the RiverClan camp. She could still feel the pain of having her soul ripped away and the terrible, terrible cold of the Empty Sector. Rainkit shuddered. Each night, she promised herself that she would never dream of Amunet again. Each night, the dreams returned. Staying awake was the only way to stop the strange memories from flooding into her brain. And strange they were. Even though Rainkit was vaguely aware that the cat that she became in her nightmares was a older version of herself, she was oddly detached from the feelings of the dream-cat. Except for the excruciating pain and misery that hollowed her out and left her just a shell of her living self. Pain that no quarter-moon old kit should have to experience, much less on a nightly basis. Rainkit always woke up after her soul was stolen, and she was thankful for that.

_Why me, StarClan,? Why not Featherkit? _Rainkit snorted. _Featherkit probably dreamed of catching plump mice._ An incredible feeling of bitterness and jealousy overcame her, followed by one of tiredness. She curled back up against her sister, unable to fight the dreams any longer.

The mist greeted her once more, accompanied by the chilling wind and mist. Rainkit glanced at her paws, which were now much larger. A scar wound around one of her forepaws, sliced through her underbelly, and finished along her spine. _It looks like it hurt, wherever dream-me got it. _Examining her silky blue-gray pelt, Rainkit could tell that her dream-self had been a warrior. _What was my warrior name?_ she wondered.

"Rainpool." A billowy voice rose out of the shadows, but it was not unkind, like Amunet's. It was like the wind itself had answered her question. _Hmmm. This might work_. _Let's see. What am I doing here? Why do I have these dreams? Is something wrong with me? _

"You will find out in time, Rainkit." The voice seemed to echo around the misty area. Rankit snorted. _That was soooo helpful._ But as always, voice or no voice, the dream played on. She stood frozen as Amunet's dark mist wreathed around her, letting her soul seep out of her until only anguish and darkness remained. She was falling endlessly, until she woke up safe and sound next to her mother.

"You can't catch me!" Rainkit could hear the other kits playing outside the nursery. She padded out to join them, determined not to get on Hailkit's bad side again. Remembering yesterday, she almost turned back, but willed herself to keep going.

"Can I play?" Rainkit tried to sound perky even as her belly ached from the nightmare. Hailkit rolled his eyes, Hawkkit smirked, and Featherkit shuffled her paws but said nothing. But Honeykit's eyes brightened.

"Sure! You can be one of the mice! We're playing Cat and Mouse. Hailkit and Featherkit are being cat, so they have to chase us. The rest of us are mice, and we run from the cats. The first "mouse" to be caught switches with the cat that caught them." Hailkit looked rather disgruntled, but apart from an exchanged glance with Hawkkit, he did not seem to have any bad intentions toward Rainkit.

The game began, and the three "mice" scurried all over the camp, being careful not to trip over the warriors or the fresh-kill pile. Rainkit felt her legs burn from running, and she slowed to catch her breath. The pain pulsed even harder from within her, causing her to double over in discomfort. _Stupid dreams! _Absorbed in her hatred for her fate, she was unaware of the cat racing toward until it was a heartbeat too late.

_Oof!_ Featherkit leaped onto Rainkit, who was flattened to the grass.

"Oops, sorry." On the contrary, Featherkit did not look sorry at all. In fact, she had slapped her tail over her mouth to keep from giggling. She simply flounced back to Hailkit, who was full out laughing, not even bothering to fake a look of compassion.

"What a slowpoke! Didya see her face!" Hailkit smirked.

"She looked like an ugly, fat, badger!" Hawkkit joined in.

"Yeah, but slower and disguised as a cat!" Featherkit's voice was the hardest for Rainkit to bear.

"Shut up! I'll get you one day!" Rainkit turned away, bounding back to the nursery. To her surprise, another cat was there besides Goldendawn and Swansong. A silghtly built, yet muscular tom was sharing tongues with her mother in the shade of the brambles.

"Dad?" The tom smelled kind of like her and had her short pelt and long, thin tail.

"Rainkit! I heard Featherkit opened her eyes yesterday, but I was busy with planning patrols. I wish I could spend more time with you two, but being deputy has lots of responsibility. Did you show Featherkit around the camp?

"Rainkit was feeling tired, so the other kits gave her the tour instead." Swansong repeated the lie that Rainkit had told her yesterday. Her father nodded. A there was a rustle of bracken, and a few clumps of dirt flew into the nursery. A gray blur rocketed past, followed by a thud. Hawkkit had head-butted his brother, who consquently tripped over his own overlarge paws. Rainkit smirked. _Serves you right!_ Featherkit helped Hailkit up.

"Are you okay?" This time, her sister looked like she genuinely cared. She helped him to his paws.

"It looks like Featherkit is taking after you, Swansong: pretty, kind, and attracted to toms," her father teased. _Hmph! Even Dad likes Featherkit best, and he hasn't even met her! Oh, Featherkit's so beautiful, so popular, so gentle, so PERFECT!_ Rainkit was fuming. She was astonished that smoke hadn't come out her ears yet.

"And Rainkit is like me: smart and determined. You're going to be a great warrior someday." he finished. Rainkit felt a little better, but her father still hadn't said that she was pretty, only that she would be a good warrior. _My warrior ceremony is moons away! And with my luck, I might not make it that far anyway._

"Daddy, am I pretty? Do you love me as much as Featherkit?" Rainkit mewed. Her father looked slightly shocked.

"Honey, I love of every one of my kits equally. No matter how pretty, how ugly, or even how different you are from everyone else, I will always love you to StarClan and back. Are you clear?" Rainkit nodded. "And I'm sure that Featherkit has her flaws too. Everyone does: I do, you do, Featherkit does, and even StarClan isn't perfect. They once were regular cats just like us, you know." Her father's kind, sincere, words reassured Rainkit. She wanted to make him proud and become a great warrior. She wished to tell him about her nightmares, but she couldn't bring herself to speak in case he became angry or ashamed of her.

"Why does Rainkit get to meet Dad, and I don't? Is she so much better than me? It's not fair!" Featherkit exclaimed, glaring at Rainkit. However, she seemed to realize that since her father was deputy of the clan, she should shut her mouth.

"Well, Featherkit, you were playing with the other kits. Otherwise, if you realized that I was here, you could have said hello to your father. However, now that you are here, I can meet me, I think. Please try to lower your voice." he meowed evenly. Exchanging a glance with Rainkit, he informed her that Featherkit did, indeed, have her weak points. Featherkit loojed quite uncomfortable and was grooming her fur to avoid her father's green gaze. Rainkit caught her sister's eye, winking at her. _Gotcha._

**I hope y'all liked it! If you did, leave a review! It only takes three seconds and really makes my day.**

****QOTD: If you were a warrior cat, what would your name be and what would you look like? Why?****

****Tell me what you think in a review or PM!****


	4. C H A P T E R 3

**AN: Hello all! The next chapter is up!**

The next few moons passed relatively uneventfully. Greenleaf came with an abundance of fish and land-prey, so the whole of RiverClan was well fed and content. There was a few petty skirmishes along the ShadowClan border, and a few accusations about stolen prey. Barkpaw and Littlepaw received their warrior names, Barkclaw and Littlebird, with much approval from the Clan. They had trained diligently for eight moons, and Featherkit wished them well.

"Kits, gather over here. I'm going to give you a lesson on herbs and medicines, okay?" Poppyheart, the medicine cat, padded over to the cluster of kits sharing a few trout. Featherkit licked her whiskers clean. She had grown to love the light, flaky texture and rivery taste of fish.

"I don't want to learn about herbs, because I'm going to be a _warrior_." Hailkit said disdainfully, glancing at the herbs that Poppyheart had laid out in front of him.

"Well, say you were walking in the forest alone, and a rogue attacked you." Poppyheart began.

"I'd flay his pelt!" Hailkit shouted.

"And I'd claw his eyes out!" Hawkkit chimed in. He leaped on top of his brother, bowling him over. They tumbled around the camp, their pelts covered in dust and bits of grass. Finally, they stopped, their fur askew and their tails twitching, a huge grin on both of their faces.

"Settle down. As I was saying, if a rogue attacks you, _and you can't overpower him, _he might seriously injure you. You are too weak to return to camp. What would you do?"

"Ummm…" There was a murmur among the kits. Featherkit could tell that Hailkit's arrogant attitude had been taken down a notch.

"I'd die!" Rainkit said with a cheerfulness that did not match her dark words. The kits all laughed.

"No kidding, silly furball. We're trying _not_ to die here." Featherkit purred.

"I would use mar-" Honeykit began quietly.

"Whatever. I would survive anyway, 'cause I'm totally awesome, and StarClan would keep me alive." Hailkit boasted. Featherkit rolled her eyes, but said nothing. _I guess what he said is partially true. He is the strongest out of all of us. _Beside her, Rainkit snorted rather loudly, a look of annoyance and disdain on her face.

"I would use marigold and cobweb to stop the bleeding, or horsetail if I could find it." Honeykit said again, a bit louder this time."

"Excellent. Honeykit will be an excellent medicine cat, if she chooses." Poppyheart meowed, a note of pride in her voice. Honeykit sat up a little straighter.

"Of course I will!" she purred.

"What!" Hailkit exclaimed loudly, getting strange looks from the warriors eating nearby. "I thought all three of us were going to be warriors together!" Beside him, Hawkkit looked a little sad but clearly had not lost his temper.

"Ignore him. I'll be proud of you!" Hawkkit meowed, glaring at his brother. Featherkit was surprised. Hawkkit had always seemed like Hawkkit's second in command, not his own cat. But it became clear to her that he was the cat most fit to speak up against Hailkit. She felt admiration for the gray tabby and his courage.

"Whitepaw! Whitepaw is sick!" At once, Poppyheart was racing across the camp to see what was going on. The group of kits followed at a slower pace. Suddenly, the crowd seemed to swallow in on Featherkit, and voices swarmed around her.

"What if he's gonna die?"

"Does he have greencough?"

"Oh no, my poor kit!" a slim white she-cat shrieked.

"Calm down, Snowflight, I'm sure he's okay." Finally, a familiar voice. Featherkit called out for her mother, who helped guide her out of the crowd. Whitepaw was slightly foaming at the mouth, a puddle of reeking vomit lying in a pool around him. Ashpaw joined her. Featherkit remembered that Whitepaw was Ashpaw's brother, and comforted her. Slowly, the commotion died down. She learned that Whitepaw had eaten a bad fish that had been left in the sun for too long, and that Honeykit had fetched the herbs needed to save The kits regrouped with Poppyheart, learning about herbs once more.

"Okay, this is the last one. Borage is this right here. You can tell because it has blue or pink flowers and furry leaves. It can cure fever and help queens boost their milk." Poppyheart explained.

"Oh, yeah! You gave it to Swansong once!" Rainkit shouted rather loudly.

"Shut up! You're sooo loud!" Hailkit meowed at about the same volume.

"Hailkit, you're just as loud. Perhaps louder." Honeykit huffed. Featherkit wasn't used to her acting so annoyed toward her brother. _It kind of suits her._ Rainkit laughed, launching into a pretty good imitation of Hailkit's voice.

"I'm the best, I'm gonna be the best warrior ever, and I like Featherkit sooo much!" Rainkit mewed, puffing out her chest. Featherkit was about to laugh, but stopped cold at the last statement. Her pelt suddenly became fiery hot, and she wished for Rainkit's short fur.

"I so do not like Featherkit!" Hailkit meowed indignantly. He glanced to Hawkkit for moral support, getting no response. In fact, Hawkkit had slapped his tail across his mouth to keep from laughing. Hailkit narrowed his eyes, his fur sticking straight up. But he laughed tensely at what Hawkkit had to say.

"I heard that Ashpaw likes Barkclaw, you know. He's so old!" Hawkkit confided.

"Nah, Seedpelt's liked her for moons! And he's even older!" Honeykit whispered. They chattered aimlessly for a while, enjoying the sun on their pelts. Honeykit and Rainkit were playing a game of mossball, occasionally hitting one of the queens or senior warriors with it. At the corner of Featherkit's vision, she saw a cat appear, then vanish. She didn't recognize her pelt. Her form materialized once again near the fresh-kill pile, her tail beckoning. Strangely enough, her pelt seemed to flicker between a golden tabby and a dark tortoiseshell. Her large eyes continually changed between a bright blue and a orangey-amber hue. Featherkit padded away from her friends, curious to see who this unfamiliar cat was.

_Hello, Featherkit. _The silver tabby kit jumped in surprise. The voice had seemed to materialize as one of her own thoughts, but she was certain it belonged to the strange cat.

_Do not fear me. I am your StarClan guardian. I will guide you and your sister's pawsteps throughout both of your lives._

"Aren't you supposed to visit me in my dreams?" Featherkit wondered.

_Yes. But your mind is… blocked. I cannot seem to reach you in sleep, much like I cannot reach your sister when she is awake. To break this barrier, you and Rainkit must pass into the Empty Quarter. StarClan and the Dark Forest are impenetrable before you pass the Twelve Trials. Good luck. _Her form wavered.

"Wait! I have to complete these Trials with Rainkit?" She had never been close to her sister. They were just too different.

_Work together, and you have the power to succeed. Separate, even for one instant, and you will fail. _

"Oh, okay. Wait! What-" But the spirit-cat was gone, not even leaving a single pawprint.

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